Manchester police arrest two in home invasion, shooting; victim hospitalized

Manchester police cordon off an area outside 499 Belmont St. where gunshots were reported about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday. One man was taken to the hospital with a neck Injury, while officers chased down and arrested two others. (PAT GROSSMITH/UNION LEADER)

MANCHESTER -- Two men are under arrest and another man is hospitalized after an armed home invasion at 499 Belmont St., where shots were reported fired about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Lt. Maureen Tessier said police found one man with a gunshot wound to his neck. He was taken to the Elliot Hospital for treatment. The man, whose name police have not released, was alert and conscious so the injury is "hopefully not too serious," she said at the scene.

Later, in a news release, police said the injury was not life-threatening.

Two men, believed involved in the incident, were arrested after police chased them down on foot, Tessier said. Their names also were not released.

Police said, based on preliminary information, two intruders armed with guns got into an argument with adult residents at the address and shots were fired.

The two gunmen fled the scene, but were quickly caught by officers who flooded the area. One of the men was arrested at Spruce Street and Old Falls Road.

Yellow police tape cordoned off an area in front of the Belmont Street building , and in other areas along Belmont Street, to Old Falls Road at Spruce Street, where officers searched for evidence.

The two suspects were not armed when arrested, Tessier said.

"There were cops in every direction," said Steve Michaud, owner of M&M Auto Repair located between Massabesic Street and Old Falls Road. He was walking to work when he saw about 20 officers in cruisers, one on a motorcycle and others on foot searching yards in the immediate area.

"They were kind of running in all directions on Old Falls and Spruce with their guns out," he said. "I had to ask the cop if it was safe to open."

Officers recovered several pieces of evidence in the search, including two handguns.

No schools were locked down as a result of the incident because the arrests were made so quickly, police said.

Police said there is no information to suggest there is any additional threat to the public.

The relationship between those arrested and the residents of the Belmont Street address is unclear, but the incident does not appear to be random, according to police.

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